Scare Factor: 4/5 - I've been going to Woods of Terror for probably the last 7-8 years. I consider it one of the scariest local haunted attractions every year and this year was no different. Without giving to much away, there are a couple of new wrinkles this year. You can't help to be startled a hand few of times no matter how hard it is to scare you.

Actors: 4/5 - The actors are the biggest strength of Woods of Terror. All around everyone does a great job, of course you have a dud here and there, but for the most part they were great.

Set Design/Props/FX - 4.5/5 - Excellent job. Every individual attraction creates it's own unique environment, the sets are great as well as the costumes and make up. The team that puts this together every year is very creative and you can tell they put a lot of hard work into it.

Length: 4/5 - Roughly 40 minutes long if I had to guess. Pretty solid!

Value: 4/5 - $20 online, so about the average going rate. It feels like a good value for a place of this level.

Overall: 4.5/5 - Another year, another great experience. Absolutely a must go every year for me!

Scare factor: 3.75/5 - Overall, this is a stimulating haunt with some noticeable overhauls in layout and connective design including several sections where the group of eight Gen Xers I went through with got separated more than once. It was the first show on a Thursday night so we got to see the preparation kickoff of all the actors parading together in the midway while the mistro sang a beautiful Star Spangled Banner. I've never seen the actor troop gathered up like that having a shared patriotic moment in stillness and reverie. The show was filled with startle scares from actors and new props but less about major FX this year.

Actors: 3.5/5 - It seemed like there were at least 70 actors in the kickoff lineup. However, WOT is such a long haunt that only a handful of sets has more than three. Set actors did a good job managing screams and laughs from each member of the group as we trapsed through multiple sets with a huge variety of characters but at times actors were sparse within each set if present at all. There weren't enough cue actors and the raffle-type midway entertainment is mostly self initiated by regular ticket-takers. Inside the haunt, costumes were well done and speaking roles clever and well acted, appropriate to set design and scene. Timing and placement of key scares has some kinks, but leaving us to our own devices in some of the sets worked well to create a sense of disorientation.

Set design/props/FX: 4.5/5 - No more gaps with nothing to see in 2014 in terms of sets. Although some long, new installations were sparse of actors, there was good haunt ambiance like sound, lighting, textured pathways, and/or creepy fog to stimulate the senses. The huge variety of set designs including walkways and connectors is impressive. More sensory overload could be helpful to amp up the scare in some places would put this point at a strong 5.

Length: 4.75/5 - Tight design makes for a relatively seamless haunt experience from start to finish...except the finish was a bit abrupt. We were asking "is it over?" It was at least 40 minutes of nonstop haunt fun. Going on a Thursday meant less bongo and internal crowd heaps, so we kept a decent pace.

Value: 5/5 - Check the web site for discount ticket prices that vary depending on which night you go. For $19 cash as a Thursday walk in price, it's a great haunt investment for what you get.

Overall: 4/5 - WOT is a fantastic haunt that should not be missed by people over 12. It's got all the right stuff for a mostly outdoor trail and a top choice in the haunt bucket for first-timers and picky hauntgoers.

Logged

I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 3, p.59